Not Really Real
by Satanira
Summary: Quatre's got a secret! Quatre's got a secret! Well, it's not much of a secret anymore, since everybody knows... yaoi, language, underage drinking, crossdressing DISCONTINUED!
1. Mission One Discovery

Satanira- My muse left me to go on vacation. Not much will be done for a while. Sorry. But hey, at least this gives me a chance to type up my old stories and post them!  
  
Hiei- Your muse isn't on vacation; he ran away.  
  
Satanira- How dare you tell lies like that about my Chibi Hiroyuki?! whacks Hiei with a frying pan and locks him in a cage Take that!  
  
"Dammit, dammit, dammit!" Quatre yelled, landing another solid kick on one of the soldiers. "My day can't possibly get any fucking worse, can it?" One of the attackers got the bright idea of sneaking up behind the blonde, and wound up on the floor with a back that was most likely broken, due to the fact that Heero had landed on him after a spectacular drop-kick.  
"You okay, Quatre?" Heero asked, downing the last soldier with a single punch to the stomach. "Did any of them score on you?"  
"Nah." Quatre said, grinning. "Not a scratch. I'm fine, see?"  
"Then explain the blood on your pants." Heero countered emotionlessly.  
"Blood on my-" Quatre started, looking down to find that his pants were, indeed, soaked with blood. "Oh shit." He whispered, his face flushing with embarrassment. "I'll.... uh.... be right back." he said, turning and running as fast as he could to the nearest restroom.  
  
"And you're sure none of the soldiers could have nicked him?" Wufei asked thoughtfully, fiddling with the handle of his katana.  
"We're talking about between his legs here, Chang." Heero said, pausing in his typing long enough to glare at his Chinese teammate. "None of them were armed with anything but knives. His clothing was not torn. Logically, there was no was he could have sustained injury from such a feeble attack."  
"Well then, what do you think might be wrong?" Wufei demanded crossly.  
"I don't have enough information to make an educated guess." Heero said calmly. "We'll have to ask him directly."  
"You'll have to ask who what directly?" Quatre asked cheerfully, walking into the room with clean pants on.  
"Perfect timing." Heero said, moving to plant himself in front of Quatre. "We need to ask you about earlier. Now explain."  
"Explain...what, exactly?" Quatre asked innocently, flashing a calm smile that dissappeared when he saw the dispassionate look on Heero's face. "Never mind." He sighed. "I know what you're talking about. But I'm not going to tell you. It's my little secret, okay?"  
"I don't think so, Winner." Wufei countered, seemingly materializing behind Quatre. "You're going to talk, whether you want to or not."  
"But..." Quatre protested weakly. He fell silent for a moment, then his face suddenly flushed with anger. "Why the hell is it any of your business?" He demanded, loosing a wild kick that caught Wufei in the shin.  
"Christ, Winner," Wufei taunted, although he winced as Quatre's foot connected with his leg. "you kick like a woman."  
"Well, maybe that's because I am one!" Quatre shouted before she could stop herself.  
"What did you just say?" Heero asked, not sure if his ears were working right.  
"I... uh...." Quatre stammered, her eyes widening as she began to panic. "I... I s-said... I..."  
"You just said you're a woman, didn't you?" Wufei interrupted.  
"And so what if I am?" She countered, slipping past him. "It's not like it really matters."  
"Actually," Wufei said, grabbing the back of Quatre's shirt, "it does. You've been hiding this from us since the first time we met you?"  
"Let me go!" Quatre yelled, twisting until her shirt came loose and tearing out of the room, Heero and Wufei a step behind her. They'd almost caught up to her when she ran into Trowa.  
All four pilots wound up on the floor, blinking at the paper floating gently to the floor around them.  
"Quatre, are you all right?" Trowa asked, standing and offering the blond a hand up.  
Quatre's eyes filled with tears, and she all but threw herself at Trowa, burying her face in his chest.  
"Make them leave me alone!" She wailed plaintively as Trowa put a comforting arm around her shoulders. "Make them go the fuck away! I'm in a really, really bad mood, the cramps are horrible, and they aren't helping at all!!"  
"Cramps?" Trowa repeated, bewildered. "Quatre, what are you talking about? What's wrong?"  
"It wouldn't have been so bad if they'd found me out yesterday, or even this morning." Quatre continued, plowing on as if Trowa hadn't said a word. "But now I'm on the rag, and I need my meds big time, before I go suicidal! Or even worse, homicidal!"  
"Calm down, Quatre." Trowa soothed. "You aren't making any sense."  
"Stop calling me that!" Quatre yelled, pulling away from Trowa. "My name isn't Quatre!"  
"What's going on in here?" Relena glided gracefully into the hall, stopping to take in the sight before her. Heero and Wufei had managed to stand up, and were staring at Quatre, as was a very shocked Trowa. Quatre was red eyed, still crying, and perilously close to hyperventilating.  
"Th-they...they found me out." Quatre said in a shaky whisper, wiping her cheeks with the back of one hand.  
"Oh, poor princess!" Relena said sympathetically, hurrying to wrap her arms around Quatre. "Judging by the shouting, I'd say at the worst possible time, too. You poor thing. And all of this right before your birthday."  
"I'm sorry I blew our cover." Quatre apologized, wiping her nose off on her sleeve. "I always mess things up, don't I?"  
"Not at all, Princess." Relena countered, gently petting Quatre's hair in a soothing gesture. "Nobody's perfect. You just made a mistake, is all, And I'm sure they won't tell anyone." Relena switched focus to glare at Wufei, Heero, and Trowa. "Right?"  
"As soon as someone clarifies just what the hell is going on here." Trowa said amiably. "Because I am lost."  
"Come with us." Relena said, dragging Quatre off towards the backyard.  
  
"Sit down." Relena instructed, pointing at various large rocks situated near a noisy fountain and plopping gracelessly down on one.  
The boys shrugged and chose rocks of their own. Quatre sat gingerly on the ground at Relena's feet, looking like she could bolt any second now.  
"Okay. Explain now, please." Heero said.  
"Shush." Relena responded, handing Quatre a water bottle and two small pills. "The cat's out of the bag now, I guess. Quatre here is a girl."  
"Yup." Quatre said, swallowing the pills and smiling shyly at her teammates. "My real name is Quatrina Peacecraft, princess of the Sanq Kingdom."  
"Well then, who's she?" Trowa asked, gesturing at Relena.  
"He." Relena corrected. "My name is Adam Micheal Winner, only son and heir of the Winner family."  
"Life just got really confusing." Wufei groaned, shaking his head. "Really, really confusing."  
"You don't know the half of it." Quatre said, sighing.  
  
Satanira- Yay! Done with chapter one! Hey, that rhymed!  
  
Hiei- Let me go or kill me now, please.  
  
Satanira- No can do. You're too cute.  
  
Hiei- I hate you.  
  
Satanira- I know. 


	2. Mission Two Confession

Satanira- The date is.... whatever the hell it is. I'm under my blanket with the lights off, typing this in Microsoft Word version 6.0. Don't fuck with me.  
  
Duo- She means it.  
  
Satanira- Fuck off, Maxwell. Find me Yuy. I need to glomp someone.  
  
"Life just got really confusing." Wufei groaned, shaking his head. "Really, really confusing."  
"You don't know the half of it." Quatre said, sighing.  
  
Duo wandered aimlessly through the halls of Quatre's mansion, looking for someone to talk to. The trouble was, he couldn't find anyone.  
No one was in the hangar, no one was in the mess hall, or in the living room, or the practice salle, or their rooms. Trowa wasn't in his office, Wufei wasn't in the weapons room, Heero wasn't anywhere near any computer Duo knew of, and Quatre was most definitely not having tea.  
"Where is everyone?" The Deathscythe pilot wondered out loud, using an open window to get to the backyard. "It's no fun when it's just me."  
The sound of voices near one of the fountains caught his attention, and he veered off towards it, catching sight of Heero and- of all people- Relena in the process.  
"Now I'm really lost." Duo heard Trowa say, sounding slightly amused. "How is it you two managed to switch places like this without getting caught at least once?"  
"We did get caught, early on." That was Quatre, sounding way girlier than he normally did. "It was just dumb luck that Lady Une found us out and nor someone else."  
"Lady Une knows about this?" Wufei yelled, and Duo began to feel as if he was now the only person in his life not in on the secret.  
"Yes. She somehow kept it from her Colonel personality, and when Quatrina hit puberty, she was the one to arrange for those pills." Relena sounded... smart. And... not annoying. Something really weird was definitely going on by that fountain. And who the hell was Quatrina?  
"I'm afraid I get rather violent, come my time of the month." Then, horror of horrors, Quatre giggled. Not laughed, giggled. "The last time I didn't get them was when my father died."  
Duo winced at that particular memory, and he was sure Trowa did more than wince. After all, the Heavyarms pilot had been actively involved in that little lapse in Quatre's sanity, and had nearly died because of it.  
"So it's a good thing Relena showed up when she did, or we'd all be dead." Heero stated.  
Now Duo was really confused. So he sat down to try and figure this puzzle out. First of all, Quatre had been talking about his time of the month, which made absolutely no sense.  
"But still, if they were trying to hide you, why pick a family as prominent as the Winners? Why not stick you in a no-name village on the other side of the world?" Wufei asked, meaning Quatre was important, but not really a Winner.  
"Milliardo was young; my father was the only person he knew he could trust." Relena said, meaning Relena wasn't really a Peacecraft, because her father and Milliardo's father were the same person.  
So logically, Quatre and Relena had switched places early on in life. That explained everything but all this talk of Quatre having a time of the month.  
"Princess, would you like me to make you some tea?" Relena asked.  
"Yes, please." Quatre said gratefully. "I think I really need some."  
"I've got it!" Duo yelled, jumping into a standing position facing the stunned little group. "You're a girl!" He exclaimed, pointing at Quatre. "You're really the Peacecraft girl, and she's really the Winner boy! I am so good at puzzles!" After jumping excitedly up and down for a half a minute, he grabbed Quatre and Relena by the wrists and began towing them towards the house. "Now let's get something to drink, cause I'm thirsty!"  
  
"I suppose it was going to happen eventually." Relena/Adam said with a sigh. "I mean, they're all very smart. Can I cut my hair now?"  
"I don't see why not." Quatrina said, pouring herself another cup of tea. "In fact, I don't see why we shouldn't tell everyone. Especially Sally Po, if she hasn't figured it out herself yet."  
"Well, that's a relief." Adam said, grabbing Heero by the arm and dragging him out of the room. "C'mon, Pretty Boy." He said. "You're gonna help me make myself look like a boy again."  
"Y'know," Duo said, gulping down the last of his soda, "for a guy, he looks damn good in a miniskirt."  
"I heard that!" Adam yelled.  
"It's a compliment!" Duo yelled back, unrepentant.  
"Fuck you!"  
"Thanks, but I don't swing that way!"  
  
Quatrina fingered her short blond hair with one hand while the other rifled through her new wardrobe in search of the perfect outfit. After all, when you're going to tell your boss you're really a woman, it's best to look nice.  
"Hey, Quat, you done in there?" Duo called from the hallway, knocking on the door. "We told Sal 4:00, and it's almost 3:30 now!"  
"I'm sorry!" Quatrina apologized. "I'll be out in a minute!"  
She grabbed blindly for something and came up with a knee length black skirt and a navy blue tanktop. She threw them on, slipped on a pair of black sandals, and opened the door.  
"I'm ready." She said with a small smile.  
"Man, are you a looker!" Duo exclaimed. "If I didn't think you'd kill me, I'd ask you out! Let's get going, before we all loose our jobs."  
  
"Ms. Po will see you now." Sally's frowsy redheaded secretary said, waving the six teens past her desk.  
"Thanks, Anna." Duo said in passing, smiling at the small girl.  
"Any day, hun." Anna smiled back. "Nice girl you got. Lookin to get her a job?"  
Duo glanced over his shoulder to see that Quatrina's face was bright red with embarrassment.  
"It's okay, Quat." He said quietly, grabbing her hand and squeezing it. "Concentrate on Sal."  
"Right." Quatrina said, nodding timidly as they stepped into Sally Po's office.  
"Hello Heero, Wufei, Trowa, Duo." Sally said in greeting to the ones she recognized. "Who are your friends?"  
"You already know us." Adam said. "Kind of. Last time you saw me, I had long hair and a miniskirt."  
"Excuse me?" Sally Po said, blinking in confusing. "I'm not sure I've met you before, sir."  
"Give Zechs a call." Duo suggested. "He can help explain this."  
"Exactly what does Zechs have to do with these two?" Sally asked. "You know I can't just knock people off the communications lines to Mars whenever I feel like it."  
"That's true." Quatrina said, gathering her courage. "And I think you should listen to us first, then see if you need to call Mr. Merquise."  
"Sounds good. So start talking."  
"I'll start." Adam said, raising his hand. "My name is Adam Micheal Winner. You would know me better as Relena Peacecraft."  
"And my name is Quatrina Peacecraft, formerly Quatre Reberba Winner."  
"I'm calling Zechs." Sally said, picking up her phone. "Anna, please get me a link open to the Mars Terraforming HQ. I need to speak to Zechs Merquise."  
There was a moment of tense silence as the group waited for the vidlink to heat up. When it did, Zechs Merquise appeared, still sweating from whatever work he'd been doing.  
"Merquise here." He said cheerfully. "What can I do for you, Miss Po?"  
"I need you to confirm something for me." Sally said. "Relena Peacecraft and Quatre Winner are here in my office. Quatre claims his name is Quatrina Peacecraft."  
"Oh, it is." Zechs said. "Can I talk to them?"  
"Why not?" Sally waved Adam and Quatrina around her desk so they were in view of the screen. "Gab away."  
"Couldn't wait to get rid of all that hair, eh Adam?" Zechs commented, noticing the shaggy bowl cut.  
"Damn straight." Adam said, snorting. "I was young when it started, but I'm seventeen now, and I want to be a boy."  
"Have fun chasing skirts."  
"Will do, former pretend big brother." Adam left the office without another word, intent on trying to win a date with Anna.  
"So you're finally yourself, are you?" Zechs asked.  
"Yes." Quatrina said. "And I blew the whole cover for us. I'm sorry."  
"Still apologizes too much." Duo said, smiling. "At least that hasn't changed."  
  
Quatrina yawned hugely, wondering just what exactly the point of a 'sorry you lost your job' party was. It could be to cheer up whoever had lost their job, but she was becoming increasingly convinced it was just another excuse for the friends of said loser to get drunk.  
"I'm sorry, Miss Peacecraft," Sally had said, obviously trying to let the blond down gently, "but the Preventors have to trust each other. If you lie about something as basic as your gender, no matter the reason, you break that trust. We just can't have that here."  
"Hey, Q!" Duo yelled from across the bar, waving a half-empty bottle. "Get over here and join the party! You're the one who lost your job here!"  
"Is that what this is for?" The bartender asked, pouring Quatrina double the vodka she'd ordered. "Drink up, honey." He said. "Your friend'll cover it."  
"Too bad I'm catching his tab, huh?" Quatrina said dryly, downing her entire drink in one gulp. "Duo can barely cover the cost of a hat."  
"That's mean, Quat." Duo said, draping himself across her shoulders from behind. "Could so buy ya hat, but I like yer hair too much."  
"No more booze for you." Quatrina said sternly, helping him onto the stool next to her. "Can you get him some water, please?" She asked the bartender.  
"You got real pretty hair." Duo continued as the bartender went off to find water for the drunk brunette. "Always thought you had reeeaaal pretty hair. Ever since I met you. An yer eyes're so be-a-u-ti-ful...."  
"Duo, stop talking before you embarrass yourself." Quatrina suggested, taking the glass of cold water from the bartender and handing it to him. "Drink this; you'll feel better."  
"Won' 'barrass m'self." Duo said, drinking the water like a good little boy. "Ne'er. Yer real pretty, Quat. A'ways thought so. A'ways loved ya, Quat. Ne'er 'mbarrassed a that...." Duo slumped over the bar with a slightly depressed sigh. "Bu' you.... yer too goo' fer me. 'M a orphan.... Orphan can' date a princess...."  
After a moment, Quatrina realized the Duo had fallen asleep where he sat, snoring softly.  
"Oh, great." She sighed, looking around for the others. "Wufei!" She shouted, waving to get the Chinese ex-pilot's attention. "I'm taking Duo home!"  
"Is Maxwell drunk already?" Wufei shouted back, shaking his head. "We'll see you two lightweights tomorrow, then!" He added before returning to a heated game of spin-the-bottle with Heero, Trowa, and seven or eight strange women.  
"The things drunken boys do..." Quatrina sighed, shaking her head as she hefted Duo onto her back, paid their tab, and left.  
Once outside, she stopped to consider her options. She could phone the Maganacs, but the sight of their 'Master' in a skirt might be too much for them. She could hail a cab, but she was low on cash. She could walk, but Duo was fucking heavy! Which left option number four: wake Duo up and walk him home instead of carrying him.  
So she slipped into the nearest alley, found a faucet, stuck Duo's head under it, and turned it on. She didn't turn t off again until Duo started yelling about enemies, waterfalls, and where the naked chicks ran off to.  
  
The Next Morning  
  
Duo yawned, stretching lazily, and wondered how the hell he'd gotten into a bed. Hopefully, it wasn't like last time, when he'd found some strange woman old enough to be his mother in bed next to him. Thank God she hadn't taken his screaming personally.  
Opening his eyes, he established that he was in his own little apartment, sprawled on his couch, not his bed, and covered with his favorite blanket. There was a note on his TV, which he would get to just as soon as his brain admitted he was still alive.  
After a freezing shower, a microwaved breakfast, and a cold glass of water, Duo grabbed the note, sat down on the couch, and turned on the tube.  
The note was from Quatrina, saying he'd passed out, woken up long enough to get to his building, and passed out again, so she'd tucked him in on the couch and called it a night. She'd also taken the liberty of removing all the alcohol from his apartment, and he really should consider cleaning every now and then, just to make sure he still had a floor under all that crap.  
"Real funny, Q." Duo said, dropping the note. As it fluttered to the ground, he saw another note on the back, also from Quatrina. It said simply, 'We need to talk.' "That doesn't make me feel very good for some reason." He said, wracking his brain for some reason why the blond would want to talk to him.  
Bit by bit, the previous night came back to the ex-pilot, including a very embarrassing drunken confession.  
"Me and my big drunken fucking mouth." He muttered with a groan, falling backward onto the couch cushion. "Duo, my friend, you are in deep shit."  
  
Satanira- All better now. No more cursing at Duo.  
  
Duo- Really?  
  
Satanira- Yup. Sorry about earlier.  
  
Duo- It's okay. I got Heero for you. Still wanna glomp him?  
  
Satanira- Sure! glomps Heero  
  
Heero- Omae o korosu, baka onna.  
  
Satanira- shrieks in fangirlish delight and faints  
  
Duo- Dammit! Now we hafta wait till she gets up to start chapter three! 


	3. Mission Three First Date

Satanira- Awake again!  
  
Duo- Yay! Let's get started!  
  
Satanira- Okay!  
  
Heero- I'm going to kill you all one of these days...  
  
Satanira- Sure you will, Hee-chan.  
  
Heero- Don't call me Hee-chan!  
  
Satanira- Sheesh, but you're a grouch....  
  
To J- Glad to please, luv. Yeah, I figured that's how someone as honest (or blunt, depending on your point of view) as Duo would love. BTW, here's a virtual life-sized Duo plushie for being the first reviewer for the story! gives plushie  
  
Quatrina sighed quietly, fighting the urge to take out her gun and start randomly shooting Maganacs.  
It was really very tempting, considering thirty-eight of the thirty- nine in the large room with her were shouting loud enough to give her a migraine.  
"Rashid, please calm them down." She begged plaintively, rubbing her temples. "My poor head can't take much more of this."  
"SHUT UP!" Rashid yelled, achieving the desired effect of silence with a minimum of pain on Quatrina's part.  
"Thank you." Quatrina said, smiling at the tall man before turning to the rest of her bodyguards. "Now that you've all elected to cease acting like rabid dogs, can we take turns here, please?"  
"You're really a girl?" Muhammad asked from the middle of the group.  
"Yes, I'm really a girl." Quatrina assured him, smiling tolerantly. "Always have been, always will be."  
"And this does not change the fact that Lady Quatrina saved us." Rashid added. "We still owe her our lives, and I won't tolerate anyone saying differently. Am I understood?"  
"Sure!" Abdul seconded. "In fact, I admire her even more now for putting up with thirty-nine clumsy men following her around like we've been doing!"  
"And she has yet to kill any of us!" Someone else added.  
"Well, that was easy." Quatrina remarked to Rashid as the others went back to what they normally did in the mornings. "Now for the hard part."  
"And that would be?" Rashid prompted.  
"Getting Duo to talk to me."  
  
Duo paced his small apartment, glancing from the clock to the door to the fire escape every now and then. The girl he'd confessed his love to not twenty-four hours ago wanted to talk to him.  
"Man, I am such a loser." He groaned quietly to himself, wondering why the hell he was actually waiting around to embarrass himself even more instead of running screaming out the nearest exit. "I'm a stupid loser." He added.  
Then the doorbell rang, and it was too late to do much of anything but face the music and hope it wasn't too off key.  
"Coming!" Duo called, trotting to the door and opening it slowly. "Hey, Q." He said. "Rashid." He added nervously upon seeing the dark, burly man. "Come on in."  
"Thank you for the ride, Rashid." Quatrina said, smiling sweetly. "I'll call you when I'm done, okay?"  
"Fine by me, Lady Quatrina." Rashid said, bowing slightly before turning and leaving.  
"So you've gone from Master to Lady, huh?" Duo said in a forced cheerful tone. "That's quite a status change."  
"And it feels like it, too." Quatrina joked back, walking past him into the living room. "Oh, my god!" She exclaimed, dropping her purse in feigned surprise. "Duo, you have a floor in here!"  
"Har, har, har." Duo grumped, looking her up and down. "I said it once, and I'll say it again. You are a looker!"  
Quatrina blushed the same pink as her pale denim skirt. It stopped halfway to her knees, partially exposing two perfectly rounded thighs. She also had on a loose white sleeveless blouse and white sandals, and the bag she'd dropped matched her skirt.  
"And you're a flatterer." Quatrina finally managed to say. "I know for a fact that I'm plain, as girls go."  
"The hell you are." Duo countered, throwing himself into his overstuffed black leather recliner. "You're a knockout, Quat. There's no getting around it. Not only that, you're a natural knockout."  
She gave him a LOOK, and he decided it was time to shut his big mouth before he stuck both feet in it.  
"I take it you remember why I wanted to talk to you." It was a statement, not a question, but Duo felt compelled to answer anyway.  
"Yeah." He sighed, motioning for her to take a seat on the couch. "I'm sorry if I wierded you out or something, but I have no control over my mouth when I'm drunk."  
"So you aren't in love with me." She was so completely unemotional and business-like it was scary.  
"No! I mean, yes! I mean... dammit, that's not what I meant!" Duo growled in frustration, wondering why girls had to be so damned difficult.  
"So you do love me." She said evenly.  
"I..." Duo, for once, found himself without words. He pushed himself to his feet and began pacing furiously. "What the hell does it matter, anyway? You're a princess, Q! I'm a street orphan! This isn't some fucking fairy tale! Life doesn't let this stuff work!"  
"Why not?"  
"Because!" Duo yelled. "First off, your brother hates my guts! He'll think I'm using you, I know it! And so will just about everyone! And you can do a hell of a lot better than me, that's for sure! And-"  
"And what if I don't want to do better?" She asked softly, cutting through his tirade.  
"What?" He demanded, turning to stare at her.  
"What if I don't want to do better than you?" She repeated, standing up so that, with her heels, she was looking him straight in the eye. "What if I don't give a damn what my brother thinks? What then?"  
"Hold it right there!" Duo yelled, waving both arms like a runway guide. "Are you saying you like me here or something?!"  
"Tell him what he's won, Johnny." She said sarcastically. "Yes, I like you. As more than a friend. Now will you tell me how you feel about me, or do I have to go Zero on you?"  
"Stop with the scary talk! Okay! I give! I yield! I love you! If you tell anyone, I'll cry like a little baby!"  
"There, was that so hard?" Quatrina asked with a soft smile.  
"Yes." Duo pouted.  
"Okay, now prove it."  
Duo blinked at her for a full five seconds before he registered what she was saying. "You've now officially stopped making sense." He said.  
"Prove that you love me. Kiss me." She elaborated.  
"Making sense again." Duo said timidly, sternly telling his heart that it had absolutely no right to be beating so damned fast just because the real life woman of his dreams had just ordered him to kiss her. It, of course, blew raspberries at his brain for being stupid and picked up the pace a little.  
"Will you?"  
"Gimme a minute here. My brain and heart are in the middle of hurling insults at each other, and my-"  
Apparently not a very patient girl, Quatrina decided to take the initiative and kissed him first, instead of the other way around. After a stunned moment, Duo did what any guy would do in his position; he returned the gesture with interest.  
  
Quatrina hummed softly to herself, staring out the window without really seeing what was there. Tonight was her first official date with Duo, and she hadn't been able to stop daydreaming about it all day. Granted, it was just a movie and anywhere she wanted to stop afterward, but it was a dream come true for her. For just about the first time in her life, she was able to be completely truthful about her feelings toward a certain longhaired ex-pilot, and that was all she really cared about.  
"Princess Quatrina?" Zechs had insisted she move back into the Peacecraft palace; she wasn't particularly happy about it, but it was what her big brother wanted.  
"Yes, Maria?"  
The tiny brunette servant smiled at Quatrina in a way that said she knew what was on the blond's mind.  
"Princess Quatrina, there's a gentleman here by the name of Duo Maxwell. He says you're expecting him?"  
"Thank you, Maria. Send him up, please?"  
"With pleasure, Princess." Maria said, her eyes sparkling as she curtsied and left the room. As the door closed, Quatrina could have sworn the maid added a quiet 'good luck.'  
In almost no time, Maria returned with Duo in tow and practically threw him into the room before running off, presumably to do her chores.  
"Hey, Quat!" Duo said cheerfully, grabbing the tiny blond in a bear hug. "Man, this place is huge! How can you stand it here? There's a reason I moved out of your last place, and it wasn't because Wufei holds grudges way too long. Well, what are we waiting for? Let's go!" The brunette jumped up and down eagerly, grinning like a hyperactive maniac.  
"Calm down, Duo!" Quatrina exclaimed, grabbing her bag, which Duo immediately snatched. "Hey! What are you doing?"  
"Making sure you have no money on you." Duo said, rummaging through the contents of the small denim purse, removing two cards and a wad of bills and putting them down on the dresser. "I'm paying for everything tonight, am I understood?"  
"Yes, sir." She said with mock subservience, smiling. "But if we don't hurry, we'll be late for the movie."  
"Ack! You're right!" Duo yelled. "We gotta get goin!"  
  
Satanira- Yay! Wow, can you believe I wrote this whole thing in less than a week?  
  
Duo- And that's impressive... how?  
  
Quatrina- She means all three chapters were written at a rate of about a chapter a day.  
  
Duo- Oh.  
  
Heero- You're all insane.  
  
Satanira- Why, thank you, Hee-chan! 


	4. Mission Four Big Brother

Satanira- Hey, this isn't fair, people! Review, dammit!

Duo- Best do as she says before she starts cussing again.

Satanira- Can it, Maxwell. I'm not in the mood.

* * *

"That was so cool!" Quatrina squealed, bouncing up and down while somehow maintaining her deathgrip on Duo's arm.

"Wasn't it, though?" Duo said, grinning. "I keep telling people, old movies are the best movies."

"If that was any indication, I agree!" She said happily, settling down a little. "The theory was kind of off, but that's only to be expected of a movie made three hundred years ago. I can't believe they restored that from a DVD!"

Duo just smiled at her as she systematically corrected every flaw in the main character's theories.

"Oh, Duo, let's go in here!" She exclaimed suddenly, yanking him towards a small karaoke bar not far from the theater. "I love this place!"

* * *

Zechs Merquise, aka Milliardo Peacecraft, stood in the middle of the wreck he'd made of his cabin. His long blond hair was tangled and falling into his eyes. Everything breakable in the room was now broken, shredded clothes rested on every available surface, and the feathers that had once inhabited his pillow had taken temporary residence in the air.

The reason for the destruction of the better part of Zechs's personal belongings was a very simple one, and one completely understood by big brothers across known space. One simply did not accept the fact that one's younger sister had begun dating calmly.

"Hey, Zechs." Noin called from the hallway. "Can I come in, or did you want to rip up a few more things and invent another swear word?"

"Come on in." He replied, plopping down on his narrow bed and leaning against the wall. "I'm done being an irrational idiot."

"For now, anyway." Noin said with a small smile, stepping around the worst of the mess. "So what exactly happened? You usually aren't one to fly off the handle like this." She eyed the broken mirror above the overturned dresser, raising an eyebrow at her old friend.

"That… that… street rat is dating my sister!" Zechs burst out, grabbing a handy book and throwing it against the wall opposite him with considerable force.

"Oh, dear." Noin said, sighing. Life would be a little hectic for a while.

* * *

"Quatrina?" Duo said, speaking softly so as not to disturb the other couples walking through the park.

"Yes, Duo?" She replied without opening her eyes.

"Is there any particular reason you're sitting on my lap, or did you just want a seat cushion?"

"That, too." She said, giggling. "I'm sorry, but I couldn't help myself. You have a very inviting lap, Duo."

"Okay, let's stop that train of thought before it even leaves the station." Duo said firmly, laying a finger on her lips to emphasis his point.

"Why?" Quatrina asked, gently biting the tip of his finger like an overgrown sleepy kitten.

"Because we're two teenagers alone at night in a park." Duo explained. "I don't know about you, but I'm not sure I'm ready for that yet. Snuggling's just fine by me."

"Whatever you say, dearheart." Quatrina said, wiggling into a more comfortable position and falling asleep again almost immediately.

Duo stared at the top of her head in surprise, then laughed quietly and got as comfortable as he could, considering he was sitting on a wooden bench with a person in his lap.

"My legs are gonna be so sore when we wake up." He muttered before drifting off himself.

* * *

What followed was a very blissful two weeks for Quatrina and Duo. They went out almost every night Duo had off, talked constantly on the phone, and spent many an afternoon sitting in silence under a tree in the park.

Blissfulness can only last so long, however, before Fate gets sick of it and sends someone to rain on your parade. In this case, that cruel lady sent none other than Zechs Merquise, home for his due yearly leave from the Mars Terraforming Project.

There was a very happy brother-sister reunion in the main hall of the Peacecraft mansion, followed by a rather cold official meeting of the big brother and the boyfriend.

"Well, I'll leave you two to catch up and whatnot." Duo announced cheerfully after a full minute of tense silence. He risked life and limb by kissing Quatrina on the cheek before making a break for the door while Zechs was still fuming.

"Why, that… that…" Zechs sputtered, turning red in the face.

"I appreciate the sentiment, big brother," Quatrina said calmly, "but I must ask you to keep whatever you were about to say to yourself. I like him."

"Well, I don't!" Zechs snapped with conviction, crossing his arms and scowling.

"I know, dear." Quatrina said soothingly, leading her brother into one of the many sitting rooms. "No one likes his little sister's boyfriend. Would you like some tea?"

"Don't try that trick on me, young lady." He said with a frown. "And yes, I would. Two sugars, please."

"Whatever you say, big brother." Quatrina agreed, pouring two cups of tea and adding sugar to one. "How are things on Mars?"

"Going better than we planned. If we keep this rate up, we might be done a full year ah- hey! You're throwing me off the subject again!"

"Yes, I am." Quatrina agreed. In the rare moments she'd been able to talk with him candidly over her life, she'd found that calm was the best way to deal with him in one of these moods. "If you really want to talk about Duo that much, however, I'll be happy to stop throwing you."

"Yes, as a matter of fact, I would like to talk about him." Zechs said firmly. "More specifically, I'd like to talk to you about getting rid of him! I'll not have my sister dating some gold-digging street rat!"

"Duo is not a gold-digger, Zechs." Quatrina said, unable to keep all the edge out of her voice. "In fact, the only thing he's not paying for is the food we eat at home and my clothes. He insists on treating me, although we are both aware of the fact that I am far more financially stable than he."

"He's probably waiting until you marry him to show his true nature. Don't let him fool you; street trash is still street trash, no matter what it does!"

Before Quatrina could protest, Duo stomped into the room. Without a word, he stalked to Zechs, knelt in front of him, and, to the blond's astonishment, removed his left boot, and took it with him when he stalked back out again.

"Did… he just…"

"He just stole your left boot." Quatrina said, not bothering to hide her smile.

"Why would he…"

"To get back at you for badmouthing him?" She suggested, taking a sip of her tea. "You'll probably have to apologize before he gives it back."

"But…" Zechs objected, looking back and forth between his sister and the door. "But he…he…"

"I know, dear." Quatrina said soothingly. "Drink your tea."

* * *

_Voila. Another chapter done. Sorry about my lack of updates on my stories lately. I just haven't been very inspired, I guess…_


End file.
